1. Probus Insurance began its journey in 2002. How do you see the growth of your company from 2002 to 2020?
Response: The growth trajectory has been memorable since the foundation of Probus Insurance Broker Pvt Ltd, in the year 2002. Insurance space has seen a lot of transitions in the last two decades, from more private players entering into the insurance space to digitization of insurance. And, along with these phases of transition, over the years, Probus has grown from issuing policies offline to an online portal, with more than 29 insurance companies tie-ups in API integration to help customers in making an informed decision. We were successful in providing more than 2 lakh policies online alone in Sept 2019, which is just another feather in our cap.
Digitization of insurance has helped us to grow tremendously in the last five years, which led our company to be honored with the award of “Digital Broker of the Year” by the ABP News and ET Now BFSI awards 2018-19.
Though we have come a long way during the last two decades, we are on a journey of making insurance a pull product, and so there’s still a long way to go.
2. How would you describe the impact of general economic slowdown on the insurance industry?
Response: On one side, there may be a general economic slowdown, but on the other side, there’s a paradigm shift in the insurance space. Now, is the time when insurance is at its peak to leverage technology and disrupt the whole industry.
Another thing is, insurance is something you need out of necessity. Insurance may have an impact in case of a continued economic slowdown. However, mandatory third-party motor policy, traveling, increasing medical treatment costs, increasing viral diseases, life uncertainties, make insurance the only thing to count on when things fall apart.
3. Risk Management is yet to gain enough momentum in India. How do you view its importance in the context of the Indian market?
Response: Risk management is quite important. And, more and more people are now getting aware about its importance. Another aspect is that it is much easier to reach more people because of smartphones and digitalization. Risk management is now taking off quite rapidly. If we look at the initiatives taken by IRDA to have regulatory sandbox for new ideas so as to provide today’s need-based products or that about the recent changes in health products,
Government’s initiatives to introduce health and term plan, new players introducing small-ticket insurance, various kind of tie-ups to introduce bite-sized insurance and the latest
campaign, “Sabse Pehle Life Insurance” is all giving the momentum we need to make people aware about risk management in India. This is very much needed now, which will increase insurance contributions to make our vision of becoming a 5 trillion dollar economy by 2024-25.
4. How do you leverage technology in providing better customer service?
Response: We are heavily leveraging technology. We have introduced Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to send renewal notices through email and WhatsApp, AI-based Chatbot to help customers in buying the right policy and for customer support, and automating claims process. Next, we are working on introducing the WhatsApp Chatbot for customers, on giving them a superior customer service experience.
5. There is a perception that Insurance Brokers mostly focus on corporate clients. But the retail sector is quite unexplored. Your views.
Response: It varies from one broker to another broker. It mostly depends on the business model and the insurance products they are distributing. Probus Insurance, as a broker, offers both corporate and retail insurance products. However, our business is predominantly retail-based. We offer motor, health, life, travel, and property insurance online for retail customers on our portal.
In fact, we offer home and business property insurance online for comparison and buying to retail and corporate customers.
6. Probus Insurance has been awarded as the “Digital Broker of the Year” 2018-19. How do you plan to hold your position in the industry?
Response: We focus on making our product simple and seamless. I think, today, with recent
changes in our product, it stands out, making it a customer-centric product completely.
The backbone of our achievement is our operational excellence and superior customer service, which is backed by technology and risk management advisories. We are always striving to provide better customer experience, which has led us to be one of the top insurance solutions providers in India in a short span of time. Our main pillars on which our brand stands out today are our team of experts, speedy online support facility, handheld claim support, and customer-centric product development. We ensure that our customers get active support even after post-sales. We help customers who earlier had ended up buying the wrong product or who may need expert’s advice on active policies to meet their ever-changing demands. To help such customers, Probus Insurance has implemented customized systems
for auditing and analyzing existing Insurance portfolios of the clients. And, we will continue to leverage technology to its fullest to make sure our brand always stands out in the market.
7. The government has recently decided to permit 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in insurance intermediaries. What impact would you think would be on the insurance broking firm industry?
Response: With 100% FDI permitted for insurance intermediaries, it will boost the insurance sector in India. This boost will make the Insurance industry at par with other financial services in India.
This will give an opportunity to players in leveraging technology with innovative solutions that will help us to reduce the buying cycle, deliver enhanced customer experience, and provide hassle-free claim processes.
The future of India’s insurance sector seems to be very promising for both
customers and the entities that operate within the industry. With the 100% FDI allowance, we will see an increase in insurance penetration.
8. What are Probus Insurance future plans?
Response: We are channeling our efforts to embrace the new technology and digitization to expand our product portfolio and bringing niche customized solutions directly in the hands of customers. To do so, we will focus on AI/ML to automate processes, which will give customers a superior experience and make the buying process seamless. We will be focusing on leveraging WhatsApp to provide a personal touch to our customers for their ease and support.
Probus Insurance has launched online insurance solutions for Home and Business insurance, now customers can compare and buy as per their needs. Moreover, soon, in the same line, we will launch products like Marine, WC Policy, and PA on our online platform. We are also taking initiatives on the one-click renewal process for motor insurance. With this service, instant policy renewal will be possible by simply uploading the previous year’s policy. Furthermore, our team is gearing up for new initiatives in institutional sales, digital marketing for B2C, and the introduction of new products on websites and App.
9. Anything else that you would like to share?
Response: As of now, Probus is the only insurance broker providing property insurance for home and business premises for comparison and buying online instantly. We have made tie-ups with HDFC Ergo, Bharti AXA, Future Generali, TATA AIG, DIGIT, to serve customers with instant issuance of Fire policy online for home and business premises.
